so i was watching cinderella while doing my nails and waiting for them to dry which was clearly a Mistake because now i can’t help but think -

the evil stepmother was always evil, okay. say her abuse of her own daughters was different than that of cinderella’s - but it was still abuse. giving them impossible expectations, telling them they were never good enough, never pretty enough, never smart enough. and then she gets married, and anastasia and drizella are ecstatic because this man seems kind and warm and maybe just maybe he can temper their mother, maybe with him around she won’t be so cruel. so they’re on their very best behavior in the beginning, they do just as their mother taught - they trot out their best upper court manners in an attempt to get their new stepfather to like them. but it just comes off as cold and snooty and they’re trying, they are, they’re just bad at it. and they see how he is with cinderella, the smiling girl their own age, and they are jealous. they don’t mean to be, they try not to be, they know it isn’t becoming of young ladies. but she gets hugs and kisses and affection and they get rulers slapped on their hands when they reach for desert and sharp jabs to their sides when they slouch and - soon they hate cinderella, not for anything she’s done, but for what she has and they dont

but then her father dies. and it’s all a tumble of things and cinderella is crying and they’ve lost their only chance at escaping their mother’s clutches and it’s terrible. and everything settles and there’s no reason to be jealous anymore but resentment is hard to let go of and they don’t know what to do. they’re only kids too after all. and they’re so terribly bad at comforting people, they can do flowery words and know all the right bows but cinderella is so sad and they just don’t know what to do with that, because they’re supposed to be sisters but they’re not even friends

and slowly but surely their mother starts abusing cinderella, starts making her a maid in her own home, and she’s their mother, what are anastasia and drizella supposed to do? she rules them with an iron fist, and cinderella doesn’t even like them anyway, it’s none of their business.

except one night anastasia crawls into her sister’s bed in the middle of the night and wakes her up. “i was thirsty,” she explains, eyes wide and shiny, and they’re bad at this with other people but drizella has no problems with pulling anastasia into her arms. the younger girl clutches her sister and continues, “i was thirsty and i went down to the kitchen to get some water and - and cinderella is still up! she’s doing the dishes, and she should be asleep, mom is going to make her make breakfast in the morning and -” she cuts herself off with a hiccup and whispers, “it’s not fair.”

“life isn’t fair,” drizella says, echoing one of their mother’s favorite phrases. but her sister is staring at her with wet eyes, and it’s not like their mother is likely to get up before sunrise anyway, she hates waking up, so she pulls herself and anastasia out of bed and off they go.

So I read this gorgeous story by @shanastoryteller called “wouldn’t you think I’m the girl, the girl who has everything” and just wow???

It retells the story of Ariel, but with a beautiful twist; the newborn prince is really a princess. Following Ariel as a trans girl, the author doesn’t omit what made the Disney version popular and well-loved. Rather, she bends the different aspects of the tale into a world very similar to our current one, where Ariel faces issues that many trans people today face, issues such as self-acceptance and fear of societal judgement.

And of course there’s magic! Who doesn’t love magic? We see Ariel as she grows into her powers, learning what it takes to be the next ruler of the seas, balancing her training and duties with her family and friends, all the while struggling with her identity.

I definitely recommend giving it a read. It was inspiring and uplifting and really made my day better. You can find it right here.

I cannot recommend @shanastoryteller ‘s retold-fairytale tag enough. Their stories are deep and inclusive and representative, and really sort out all the problematic elements. As great as Mulan is, one of her 2 (yes two! Isn’t it wonderful!) different, excellent plotlines (and twists) that would make terrific live-action adaptations. There are also multiples of Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, and a beautiful take on the animal brides trope (So. Fucking. Good.) Here’s a link to her master list - definitely check it out :-D

“I’ve spent my life colliding with him,” she offered tentatively. “Crashing into him against my will.” She took another step, angling them so that if she’d chosen to reach out, she could have; but she stopped, holding her hands at her side. “Eventually you start to wonder if it’s by design,” she mused.

Inevitability, she heard, and punishment -

“So?” Theo asked gruffly. “What’s your point?”

“So,” she said slowly, “my point is that I know what it’s like to circle him. To orbit him, and exist around him, and - ” she held her breath, preparing herself to confess. “To want him,” she clarified hoarsely, “but wish I didn’t.”

So Princess Aurora.She’s cursed. She’ll prick her finger on a spinning needle and fall into a forever sleep by sixteen.She knows, of course. Those fairies are even worse at keeping secrets than they are at child-rearing, and that’s saying something. So little Briar Rose grows up knowing that these three ladies have isolated her from her real family, that her parents would rather have her locked up somewhere with no life than experience everything.She’s grown up in a fucking forest. She knows about life and death.She’s decided that if she’s going to die at sixteen, she wants to be *missed*. She wants hordes of people mourning for her, she wants to be remembered.And she’s okay with only living for maybe one fifth of her natural life, as long as she gets to experience everything.So at seven years old Princess Aurora runs away from the cottage in the woods where she learned to cook and clean and dance and sing.And the first thing she does, once she’s overcome her awe at the sheer masses of people, is find a kindly seamstress and learn how to use a needle.The seamstress is struggling to keep up with her orders - the whole industry is, really. The ban on spinning wheels means they have to import cloth from neighbouring countries, which is more expensive. This lady is pleased to have another pair of working hands, and they’ll only cost some training, so she gladly agrees.Her hands are small, pudgy and untrained. She’s never held a quill or a needle in her life, and she’s unused to finer work. On her first day, she pricks her finger so much that a little drop of blood actually stains her needle a coppery red. The seamstress tuts, smiles at Aurora (who goes by Rose now), and shows her how to use a thimble.She lives beneath a tree at the edge of the forest, and the animals bring her berries, and she washed in the stream, and everyday on her way to work she passes by a blacksmith’s forge.

so i have this disney playlist i listen to usually when i’m driving and i was blasting poor unfortunate souls this morning and i was thinking

what if ariel didn’t sign the scroll?

because she’s about to, okay, and she looks at the paper. the parchment made of seaweed, the ones that’s specially treated to survive underwater. and she thinks of her cave of treasures, her books that remain perfectly preserved underwater.
“no thank you,” she says slowly, becoming keenly aware of air of this place, of the not-people she’d seen who hadn’t been able to pay the price for sea witch’s bargain. “i – no. thank you. but no.”

ursula tries to convince her otherwise, but ariel runs. she goes back to her cave, destroyed as it was by her father’s anger, and thinks.

she’s the daughter of triton. her books never got wet, though she lives in the ocean. she feels a pull inside her, to the land, to somewhere else, but what if – what if –

what if she doesn’t need the sea witch or her father to perform magic for her? what if she has her own?

ursula had wanted her voice because that’s how she performed her magic. singing in this cave had given it powers and protection, and when she saved her prince from the sea – she sang then too, to keep him safe, to guide him back to life and away from death.

so she has magic. she only needs to figure out how to use it.

so that’s what ariel does now. she’s quiet and keeps to herself, and her father and sisters think that it’s because she’s upset with her father, that she’s busy licking her wounds.
she’s moved on from that. she has no trident, and is uninterested with fueling her magic with the souls of the damned like ursula has. so she needs to figure something else out.

she does what she’s not supposed to do, and goes where she’s not supposed to go, slipping past the guards and patrols to the one place in the sea that is forbidden to all of them.

the crevice in the earth where what remains of her grandmother lives.

ariel goes to amphitrite, and the sea goddess is so much bigger than ariel, the size of great whale as she curls at the bottom of the sea floor, too old and too tired to do anything more than sleep. “granddaughter,” the great being croaks, opening an eye as blue and as unfathomable as the sea, “you look like me.”

“they say i look like my mother,” she says, and to herself adds: that’s why father can barely stand to look at me.

“you have more of me in you than your mother,” she says, and she shifts and pulls her mass of red hair over her shoulder. “more of me in you than your father does, even.”

“i have magic,” she says, pulling her bravery to the fore as she swims closer to her grandmother, “i want you to teach me how to use it.”
amphitrite pushes herself up, and it’s the first time she’s moved in a millennia, and ariel notices for the first time that her grandmother isn’t a mermaid – she has legs.

she has legs.

“you have power,” amphitrite corrects fiercely, “and i will teach you to wield it.”

and so she does. ariel spends her nights by her grandmother, learning to harness the power of the sea that runs in her veins, and sleeps her days away while her sisters and flounder and sebastian grow more and more concerned, but she refuses to tell them why. she refuses to be stopped.

but her heart still aches. she fell in love with her prince, and she wants him still. so she swims to the edge, goes to the beach where his castle resides in the dead of night when her lessons with her grandmother are complete, and sings

.
she’s careful not to let any magic leak through, only her voice. she does not want to enchant him. she wants him to love her as she is. so she sings, her voice clear and powerful and cutting through the air. she hopes he can hear it.

then one day a figure walks to the beach, and it’s him, her prince. “hello?” he calls out, “are you out there? are you – please, it was you that saved me, wasn’t it? won’t you come out and let me see you?”

so she does, waves her tail at him until he catches sight of her and takes hesitant, disbelieving steps closer.

“you’re a mermaid,” he says, eyes wide, “i thought i saw – but it couldn’t be.”

“i am, and it can,” she says, heart beating wildly in her chest. he’s just as handsome as she remembered, and she wants him just as much. “my name is ariel.”

“ariel,” he repeats, and pulls off his boots and goes wading into the water, watching her to see if she flinches away from him. she doesn’t, and his strides grow bolder. “my name is eric.”

“eric,” she whispers, and when he’s close enough he touches her, trailing fingers across the bare skin of her shoulder and tangling them in her hair.

when he kisses her, she feels powerful enough to undo the world.

so there’s that now, spending her nights with her grandmother and her prince, and she knows how to make her own legs now, could walk onto land and be made a queen among the two legged men.

but she’s a princess here first, and before she can do that she needs to take care of something.

ursula.

the rotten sea witch with her rotten sea magic won’t be allowed to torment her people any longer.

she tells her grandmother, and amphitrite smiles and says, “an excellent decision, child. i’ve enjoyed our time together, but i think it’s time for me to sleep once more. i’ve taught you everything i can.”

and tears prick ariel’s eyes, but she holds them back. she knew that it couldn’t be forever, that her grandmother can’t die but no longer desires to live and this is the in-between.

“you’ll be an amazing queen,” amphitrite murmurs, and closes her eyes for a millennia more.

this isn’t something to be done in the dead of night, although it would be easier to do it then.

she will make a spectacle of it, she will remind the sea that her people are not to be trifled with.

once upon a time they feared a blue eyed, red haired sea queen with the power to destroy them all. it’s time for them to do so again.

so she drives ursula to the center of the city. her sisters cower and people hide, and her father comes rushing forward to save her.

“you’ve committed great crimes against my people,” she says, not flinching as lightning gathers in the sea witch’s hands, “so now shall a great crime be committed against you.”

“foolish girl,” the sea witch snarls.

triton is yelling. he won’t get there in time.

he doesn’t have to.

she doesn’t need to sing anymore. instead she lifts her hands and pulls ursula apart without ever touching her, not only renders flesh from bone but also sets free the souls she’s been hoarding, reverses the magic done to those who’d fallen into the sea witch’s trap.

they all stare at her, her people, her father, and her sisters. she looks to triton and says, “i’m not a little girl anymore.”

he opens his mouth, closes it again, then says, “i can see that.”

all at once everyone’s perceptions are turned sideways about their youngest princess. she commands a power that even her father doesn’t have access to, she’s not depressed and dreamy – she’s powerful young woman who knows exactly what she’s doing.

so she does what she wanted to do, she gives herself legs and steps onto the sand and launches herself into eric’s arms. she becomes his bride, and the rumors run rampant of what she is, of where she came from, but they can’t prove anything and so they rule.

they live long, happy lives. ariel is his consort, his advisor, his wife, his tactician, and his best friend. all those years reading drowned books have certainly paid off. she ages herself along with her husband, bears his children and then teaches them they ways of her – their – people.

her husband dies, and she disappears, like the stories of selkie women that everyone whispers around her. their children give their father a sea burial, and vow to see him again one day. what they know and none of their subjects do is this – their father’s body isn’t in that casket.

she returns to her ocean, her legs form into her glittering green tail, and she goes home. she uses her terribly powerful magic, and brings her husband with her. she went from princess ariel of the sea to queen ariel of the land, and now she’s back again.

she’s not quite a teenager, but neither is she the old woman she pretended to be on land. she’s returned her and her husband to the prime of their life, and as she gained legs to be with him, he now gives his up to be with her.

eric becomes a merman, and a prince by virtue of being ariel’s husband.

she returns to her family and her world without missing a beat, and they all welcome her as if she never left, treat her husband with kindness and respect.

because they all know.

it doesn’t matter that she’s the youngest. when, far in the future, triton’s reign ends –

Here it is, at long last! I’m self-publishing The Prince and the Rose through the Amazon Kindle store! It’s set to drop on the same day as My Fair Baron, so if you pre-order both, you’ll get TWO books from me on the same day!

If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle app for your computer or phone. If you’d rather have a physical copy, I’ll be releasing a print version on Sept 4th!

Please share the link, if you can! Pre-orders for self-published books are still important numbers that future publishers will take into consideration! Thank you!

He pulled Snow down by the back of her head and kissed her on the lips, his mouth open and wet. She would have killed him if she could, if she had thought to bring the tiny jeweled blade that belonged to her mother. Snow had found it sewn into the seam of her mother’s wedding bed.

He gazed upon her, still as young and beautiful as that day beyond memory she fell into her enchanted sleep. He lifted the gauzy veil across her face and lowered his face to hers.

As their lips touched she convulsed, her forehead smashing into his nose. He reeled back, clutching his face. She spluttered and coughed, scrabbling at her arms, pulling wires and tubes away. At last she regained her voice.

“My what?” she snapped, as she hauled herself up in bed. “My suspended animation? That was a highly delicate procedure!” She twisted in bed to look at a display. “Ninety-eight years of data gathering ruined for what?”

“Unbelievable!” Bea said, as she rummaged through the dust-coated debris on her bedside table. “How did you manage to disable the automated laser turrets?”

“Anything for you, my—wait, auto-what?” said the prince.

“Oh, here,” she said, holding aloft a handheld device. “Forgot to turn them on.” She pressed the button, there was a swelling ‘thrum’, and then a piercing shriek and flash of light. All that remained of the prince was a thin haze and an odd smell.

“It’s getting so a girl can’t be an evil genius in peace any more,” Bea groused to herself as she snuggled into her bed, lowering the exodermic preservation sheath onto her face once more.

aladdin wishes to be made a prince, but all genie does is get him a lot of stuff and money. that’s not what a prince is. a prince is the son of the king, someone in line for the throne. someone with a lot of money is just - rich. so what i think is:

genie goes okay, that’s a big one - and i can do it! but not on my own, not if you want to do it right. not if you truly want a chance to marry your princess for real, as a prince. and aladdin is a foolish, moral, kind boy - and he agrees. he’s fallen in love with jasmine, an innocent all encompassing love, and he’ll do anything for this sweet, clever girl he only knew for a few hours. so genie takes him across the desert, far from agrabah, and plops right in the middle of a skirmish and is like okay, good luck! and aladdin is like ?????

but there’s assholes with swords attacking a young girl, and aladdin doesn’t even have to think about that, just like when he stood in front of the whip for those little kids. there are three men against him, but he’s fast and clever and has been against a dozen trained palace guards. so it’s not easy to get out of there alive, especially with the little girl to protect, but he manages it with only a thin slice on his upper arm, and he’s endured worse for less. so he picks up the little girl and says “i think we should get out of here, hmm?” and she’s in a pretty red silk getup with tiny jewels encrusted on her like stars against sunset. and she nods and throws her arms around his neck. she won’t talk, only points in the direction of home, but aladdin’s okay with that, he’s used to quiet, scared kids. so he keeps up a steady stream of stories of agrabah, which seems almost like this other desert land. but there are more men with swords and aladdin is like what the fuck is going on, but he hides the girl in a corner and fights them too. and that’s how it goes all the way home. there’s no one on the streets really, and they all scatter when the men attack, and they keep on attacking, he fights his way all the way through the city with the girl on his hip or hidden away.

and he should have known, of course, but he was tired and bruised and bleeding by the time he realized the little girl is silently guiding him to the palace and he’s like why can’t you princesses stay inside??? but he walks up and the guards get one look at the child in his arms and whisk him through and multiple people try to take the girl away but she won’t budge from him, a stubborn pout to her lips as her hands remained locked behind his neck. and he’s finally tossed into a throne room where a tall old man is sitting in agony and two young men pace in front of him, each at least a decade older than aladdin. “they’ve taken our sister!” one of the younger men hiss, “i don’t care about their power or their connections, they’ve taken esfir, and we must go get her!”

“uh,” he clears his throat, “hi?”

and all three men whirl on him and the old man stumble-runs to him. esfir finally lets go of aladdin to picked up and twirled around by her father. the two men are rahim and shapur and they look in wonder at this dirty boy of fifteen who’s returned the girl to them, and he speaks with an accent and clearly is not from here and they get the story from him - he’s traveled across the desert because those in his own country want him dead. “you know,” rahim says as the king clutches at esfir in desperate relief, “you could have held her for ransom. you almost died saving her, and we would have paid handsomely to have her returned safely.”

and aladdin gives him a flat disapproving look, appearing in this moment four times his age, and says “people are not objects or bargaining chips. especially not lost little girls.” and rahim and shapur share an impressed conspiring look and they each grab one of his arms and lead him away. “hey! what are you -”

“do be quiet little brother,” shapur says cheerfully, “we really have to get you out of your rags.”

What better debut theme for my book recommendations than Retold Tales! Over the years these books have taken me on new adventures that still felt very familiar. These stories range from faithful adaptions to wild re-imaginings but every one is a magical adventure. This is a very very small selection from this genre and I hope to do a part 2 very soon!

Hi! I was wondering if you had any LGBT book recs for an preteen/teen kid who enjoys dragons, without a focus on romance? I want to introduce my brother to the idea that not everyone is straight or cis without making a big deal about it.

sorry, that’s a bit too specific to me — books without romantic focus are less common, LGBT books without romantic focus even less so, LGBT books without a romance focus and WITH dragons… i got nothing

here’s some books i can think of that comply with at least some of what you’re looking for:

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo. A collection of dark original and retold fairytales, some of which feature lesbian/gay/bi characters. Fantasy, so possibly of interest to him, but not devoid of romance

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. I haven’t read this yet, I’m only mentioning it because I know it focuses on friendship over romance and has a variety of LGBT characters. Contemporary, no dragons that I know of, sorry

Something’s Not Right by Yves. Collection of paranormal/urban fantasy short stories. Various LGBT characters. No dragons, but other magical things; some romance

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller. I’m unsure whether this counts as too romance-focused but that line is always blurry and it’s not a huge part of the book so whatever. Various LGBT characters, fantasy novel

The wife to be drank tiny cups of strong espresso, her hands were tense as spiders legs, dripping in gold rings. She’d never seen a woman wear so much jewelry before. She assumed it was a motherless thing, that she’d never know how much jewelry was appropriate to wear at an impromptu breakfast, one without mimosas or drinks made with mint the cook grew in windows.

“Odette,” Snow interrupted and set down her heavy silverware with a distinct clink.

“Yes?” Odette asked. She turned her chin so quickly her bucked front teeth knocked against the the white china.

“Women are wicked.” Snow said. She watched for the wife’s-to-be reaction, if her chin quivered or her eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

“Excuse me?” Odette said. In the bright winter morning her hair reminded Snow of a halo, worn long and down her back when Snow’s father was no where in sight. He went on a hunting trip the afternoon before. He promised his fiance he’d bring home a deer, slaughtered. How he’d carry it over one shoulder. Easy. Snow hadn’t seen Odette eat one bite of meat since she’d came to their castle. Her stomach was weak, Snow thought.

“I read that, how absolutely wicked we are. As a whole species. We tempt,” Snow said, “I believe I read that in the bible.”

“Are you a follower of our faith?” Odette asked. Her face remained quite still through the exchange, Snow noted, disappointed in her inability to shock.

Genre: Fluff/AngstPairing: Jongdae x ReaderWordcount: 4640 (SORRY)Warnings: Lost of fluff, i think i should tag weight issues, family problems.Notes for update: 25A/N: It’s been a long time since I’ve worked on this series, but I love it so much. please love it as well!

It was four weeks after your first study date, and now you found yourself in Kris’ car in front of Jongdae’s apartment building. He’d invited you to come there for dinner. You’d doubted about it, really. Never before had you been at a boy’s, or anybody’s house before for dinner. However, your parents and brother weren’t home today. They had something concerning the upcoming Olympic games, and you couldn’t come along. So you’d given Jisoo, your head maid and cook, a day off. She was happy for it. “This boy your obviously hanging out with, is he your boyfriend?” Kris asked, turning in his seat. Blush spread over your cheeks. “No.” You mumbled.“Okay, just…I’m not going to tell your parents or anything, but be careful. Even though he looks like a good kid.” You nodded. “Thanks Kris.”

he is a young man, with a young, pregnant wife. they are
poor, and can’t afford much, so he sneaks into the witch’s garden at night to
steal away the rapunzel lettuce his wife so desperately craves.

when the witch gothel catches, him she demands the child
that her garden is feeding as payment.

he agrees, because there’s nothing else he can do.

he and his wife can have more children, but not if they’re
dead. they can have more children later, when they have the means to provide
for them, when they’re older and more sure of themselves, when the prospect of
being responsible for another mouth to feed isn’t quite so terrifying.

his wife is still slick with blood when he wraps their
daughter in an old pillowcase and brings her to the stone wall separating their
land from the witch’s. “are you going to hurt her?” he asks, clutching his
crying daughter to his chest.

gothel raises an eyebrow and says, “what a foolish
question.” she pulls away from him and is gone in the next instant.

his arms feel empty, but lighter too. he’ll never say this
aloud, but it’s almost a relief to give the child away.

they couldn’t even afford to feed themselves, never mind anyone
else.

he wants to be a father. he doesn’t want to be the father of
a hungry child.

~

this is not the first time gothel has bargained a child away
from its parents. and so she tucks the squalling little girl in bend of her
elbow, and goes where she always goes.

“caroline!” she calls out, “oh mother caroline!”

she stands in front of large house, one that has the general
appearance of being many houses stacked up on top of each other, all different
colors and sizes and styles. also, from the side, it does not look unlike a
rather large shoe.

the door bangs open, and a small wave of children run for
her, small sticky hands grasping at her dress and cloak, and gap toothed grins
everywhere she turns. “have you brought us another brother?” a girl asks,
wrinkling her nose. “i have too many brothers.”

the boys turn to her, glaring, but the girl is unrepentant. she’s
the only girl in among the younger kids, and is quite cross about it.

then the older kids surround gothel, the ones that had had
the patience not to go chasing after her at a sprint. the teenagers like to
pretend like they don’t care, but she has many eager and impatient eyes on her,
lots of twitching fingers eager to take the baby away from her. that’s fine by
gothel – she’s eager to be rid of the blasted thing.

the crowd of children part for mother caroline. like gothel,
caroline has dark skin and black hair, a strong, wide nose and plump lips. but
while gothel appears to be a woman in the prime of her youth, caroline is an
old woman. her back is straight and strong, and there is strength in the width
of her waist. but her dark hair is streaked with silver, and her skin has
started to bend to the will of time and gravity, causing delicate wrinkles to
frame her face. “little sister,” gothel greets, “you’ve gotten older.”

caroline shoots her an irritated glance, “while you haven’t
changed at all.”

“you could have became a witch like me,” gothel says, not
for the first time, “you were always quite good with physical magic. then
neither of us would age at all!”

“change is inevitable,” caroline says with the type of
finality that makes gothel’s skin crawl. “let me see the child.”

the children crowd impossibly closer as gothel hands the
baby over, red faced and new. caroline cradles the babe against her chest, then
stills, her lips pulling down at the corners. “what’s wrong?” gothel demands,
peering down at the baby anxiously.

she looks like any other baby gothel has seen. her face is
squished oddly and her eyes are a watery blue. she has ten fingers and ten toes
– gothel checked! – and she was crying when her father handed her over, but
she’s quiet now.

i actually haven’t read a good book in so long but yesterday i found a book called “kissing the witch” by emma donaghue and it’s really great and gay!! it’s basically a collection of retold fairytales and it’s just really well written and mystical and gay

“She really does love him, doesn’t she?”“Well, it’s like I always say, your majesty, children got to be free to lead their own life.”“You always say that?”“Then I guess there’s just one problem left.”“And what’s that, your majesty?”“How much I’m going to miss her.”